Sleight

'SLEIGHT': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A sci-fi drama about a gifted street magician who turns to illegal activities to support his sister, after their parents are killed, and he then must use his special skills to protect them from the same dangerous people he works for. The film was written and directed by J.D. Dillard, and it stars Jacob Latimore, Seychelle Gabriel, Storm Reid, Sasheer Zamata, Cameron Esposito and Dule Hill. It's received mostly positive reviews from critics, and it was a small indie hit at the Box Office as well (grossing $4 million on a $250,000 budget). I found the film to be mildly interesting and entertaining, but definitely nothing great.

Bo (Latimore) is a very talented street magician, who also works for a dangerous drug dealer, named Angelo (Hill), to pay the bills. He's also responsible for taking care of his little sister, Tina (Reid), since their parents died. When Angelo finds out that Bo has been stealing from him, he threatens to kill Bo and Tina. Bo is forced to come up with $45,000, in order to spare their lives, and he's also forced to turn to his special abilities in order to get them out of this new predicament alive. His abilities amazingly include controlling metals, using an electromagnetic he built into his arm.

The film kind of feels like a superhero origins movie. It would be a lot more beloved if it was a popular comic book character (that people already knew) too. As it is, the film is mostly amusing, and the climax is pretty cool as well. Also Latimore makes a pretty likable leading man too. The movie isn't especially memorable, or especially likable, but it is decently made and entertaining.

"Sleight" had SO much potential. The magic sequences were entertaining. The performances were believable, and the characters had time to develop. The tone was set from the beginning to be tense, and the buildup was incredible. The film would keep making you think the girl would be kidnapped throughout the film, but when it finally happens, it cheaps out BIG time. All the subtleties are suddenly exaggerated. Things got silly all at the last moments of the film. The climax was boring. There was no sense of urgency anymore. The tone just INSTANTLY changes. Is this supposed to be epic? Am I supposed to be laughing? I didn't know anymore, and it didn't help that everyone's performances got goofy. The trailers were trying to sell this film as some sort of urban superhero tale, but since it took so long to get to the kidnapping, they had to cram all the heroics in at the last minute, thus wasting all the time they took developing everything including my time. What an absolute disappointment.

I thought it was awesome all the cast were really believable and the story was great. Yes I recommend it. James Welch Henderson, Arkansas 11/14/2020

OK, this is one of those movies where the lead character is a likable victim. He is shy and reserved but gets pulled into drama and makes bad choices, the anti-hero. BUT he is played as a HERO. If you disagree, you are racist?! This kid forgoes a college scholarship to take care of his baby sister (I guess he couldn't do that in college). SO, then he becomes a drug dealer. Then he becomes a violent felon. Then he betrays a close friend for money. And on and on. But we are supposed to pull for him. He lies and steals and carries a gun into a crime and ...... not a hero. Sorry -- don't feel sorry for the lifetime victim. Get a job, son.

Sleight is not a random gangster movie, because the main character is kind of special, he can do magic tricks. And he is really good.

Well that's it. His passion is not really well-used in the plot, so it really feels anecdotal.

I always wonder why he bothers doing magic tricks when he needs money. He must be making much more money with selling drugs. I'm not sure it makes sense.

The shots around his magic tricks makes the movie special, but it goes old real quick, after 30mn. Then we forget about it, to go back to magic half-an-hour afterwards. There's a big issue in the writing. The is not enough events to keep the plot interesting after 30mn.

So yeah it's original, and well-acted, but a sad lack of structure. And the mysterious ending feels pretentious for a movie that is not cleverly constructed. It doesn't really work.